The rise of a gifted pianist : Johnny Hachem: Johnny Hachem is one of the most brilliant pianists in today’s time. He has performed at various international festivals, including ones held in Ukraine, Lebanon, Switzerland, England, Austria, Germany, France, Spain Poland, Romania, The Netherlands, South Korea, as well as the Arab countries, where he played his solo works. It wasn’t until later on when young Johnny discovered how much talent awaited him in the music industry. He is a music prodigy who started learning piano and composition at the Lebanese Higher Conservatory of Music. He earned his master’s degree there with distinction too! Read additional information on Johnny Hachem.
I love that everything I do is to be original and unique and not only to follow the music market. At the same time I profit from the technology and the new softwares to the maximum. For example, a few years ago, I composed the orchestral music for a documentary film using only the VST instruments. I believe that I must gain from anything that can make the composition process smoother and faster but it must always meet uniqueness and genuine originality.
As for learning piano and music composition, Johnny got his training from the Lebanese higher Conservatory of Music and earned a master’s degree with distinction. Since then, there has been no looking back for him. In fact, Johnny has been composing for more than 20 years and has produced music for orchestras and chamber music. Moreover, many symphony orchestras have been playing his compositions on the stages in various countries across the world.
How can one make ends meet from composing in this era? Johnny Hachem: To keep the beauty in anything modern he/she composes. And the biggest proof for me is “Jacob & Rachel, The Love Story” it has won the 3rd prize among hundreds of contemporary compositions… Is it important as a classical musician to “be out there” and “sell yourself”? Johnny Hachem: Not at all! Have you ever thought of writing a piece with bel canto vocals in it? Johnny Hachem: Sure I did that before…
He not only successfully cultivated his talents and became one of the few names in the industry but also won a music composition award at International Composition Conference in 2009. Then in 2021, he managed to win big at the Classic Pure Vienna International Composition as well. The unparalleled achievements of this artist have no limitations as Johnny has performed as a soloist in various concerts and international festivals in multiple countries such as Ukraine, Lebanon and Switzerland. Apart from that, he has shown what a skilled pianist he is while performing in France, Austria, Germany, England, Spain, Poland, Romania, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Belarus, South Korea, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
Classical music these days more of a sub-niche with rigid frames and for many it is boring and full with repetitions. It is true, even Verdi became quite “pop” in some of his works, not to mention Chopin or Donizetti. Ok, maybe Bartok was a different league and an exception; however, there is a trend to “lighten up” the classical pieces to make it more acceptable for the masses. As a composer and performer, how do you see this, what are your experiences? Johnny HachemJohnny Hachem: I will divide my answer into two parts: First, I believe that people listen to classical music more than ever, but that is through movies and video games, however, most of them don’t like listening to it in a concert hall and that’s because of the strict etiquette rules there; you can’t clap between the movements of the musical piece even if you were very excited, you can’t cough now, you can’t move… in other words, you can’t express your emotions as you do in pop or rock concerts… To tell you the truth, it wasn’t like that before. Joseph Horowitz, in his wonderful new book, Moral Fire, describes audiences “screaming” and “standing on chairs” during classical concerts in the 1890s. The New York Times records an audience that “wept and shouted, strung banners across the orchestra pit over the heads of the audience and flapped unrestrainedly” when listening to their favorite opera singer at the Met in the 1920s. And the strict rules started in 1960.